Individual motivation to act against climate change outweighs the impact of hyperlocal collective intentions, though both approaches are worth strengthening, according to a survey of nine European neighborhoods published Nov. 20, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS Climate by Christian A. Klöckner from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and colleagues. Western society contests the individual...
According to The New York Times, “… a newly triumphant Republican president” is “once again in the headlines.” What will it take to break “the present national divide, between the narrow but solid Republican majority and a Democratic party seemingly trapped in second place,” asks the Times. That pattern “may be hardening” into one “that...
Nearly half of the U.S. electorate thinks members of the opposing party aren’t just wrong for politics—they’re downright evil, according to new polling data from the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. Three-quarters of Republicans who still believe Trump won the presidential election in 2020 “somewhat agree” or “strongly agree” that Democrats are “downright evil.”...
The legacy of slavery in America remains a divisive issue, with sharp political divides. Some argue that slavery still contributes to modern economic inequalities. Others believe its effects have largely faded. One way to measure the legacy of slavery is to determine whether the disproportionate riches of slaveholders have been passed down to their present-day...
General-election presidential debates offer high-profile opportunities for citizens to learn about the candidates’ positions and temperaments, since the matchups draw coverage across diverse media, including broadcast and cable television, newspapers, digital news sites, podcasts, and social media. Importantly, debates also present valuable opportunities for parents to talk with teens and young adults about the rights...
A majority of Americans worry this year’s general election will be tainted by fraud, according to a recent NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released earlier this month—an ominous indication of the state of democracy in the U.S. “When citizens lose trust in the electoral process, they may question the legitimacy of elected officials and the institutions they represent, which...
Lagos is Nigeria’s economic powerhouse, but it has some of the worst slums in the country. Lagos slums are characterised by high levels of poverty – the state of not having enough resources to meet basic needs for living, such as food, water, shelter, healthcare and education. Poverty is multidimensional. It is not only about...
The new study also identifies factors that can make these efforts more successful. When an election result is disputed, people who are skeptical about the outcome may be swayed by figures of authority who come down on one side or the other. Those figures can be independent monitors, political figures, or news organizations. However, these “debunking”...
In recent U.S. elections, results often took days to finalize, fueling voter distrust in the electoral process and ballot outcomes. Now, research from the Yankelovich Center for Social Science Research at UC San Diego shows that a simple, proactive message from election officials – ahead of Election Night – can effectively reduce this distrust. The...
A psychologist has explained the sources of political beliefs in the U.S., why liberalism and conservatism appeal to different individuals and why we continue to disagree about fundamental issues in American life. Bridging Our Political Divide collects the insights of a psychologist who offers antidotes to the unproductive arguments that now dominate our political culture and...
